AN: Next chapter is out. Hope you guys like it. As always, reviews and comments are appreciated.
AN2: From now on, Catherine will be refered to as Senju Hikari instead of Catherine Potter. Tell me if you think Tsunade is being OOC.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
"English"
-May 25, 1986-
The Hokage's Office
Sarutobi sat in his chair, pondering about the young girl currently hospitalized in Konoha's very own hospital. He knew that this incident was Kami-Sama's way of helping him keep Tsunade in Konoha. Now, all he needed to do was play his cards right and one of the legendary Sanin would be in Konoha once more.
His thoughts were interrupted by the very Sanin he was thinking about. Instead of slamming the door open this time, Tsunade simply opened it. She walked in with a medical file in one hand and a bottle of sake in the other.
Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the sake bottle but didn't say anything. It wouldn't due to irritate his student too much about her habits. "How is the girl?" he asked instead.
Tsunade lets out a sigh and takes a long drink from her sake bottle. "She's alive and awake."
"That's great, isn't it?" the Hokage asked confused at his student's reaction.
"Yes, well here. You look at the file and tell me she's doing great." she groused as she tossed the file to the old man.
Sarutobi took a few minutes to look at the file and his eyes widened in horror at each passing sentence.
Multiple unhealed lacerations around the torso
Right arm broken
Improperly aligned left arm, right pinky finger, and left middle finger
Scarring of the back
Bruising centered around the wrist, neck, and stomach areas
Multiple rib fractures
Mild case of malnutrition
2 inches hole in chest cavity (foreign object lodged inside was removed by surgery)
Severe blood loss
Unusual shaped scar on forehead (note: looks fresh but healing jutsu seems to have no effect)
The list continued to show other injuries that the girl seemed to have received throughout her life. It was a miracle that she was still alive!
The Hokage sighed as he closed the file. Cases of child abuse always got to him, especially since his own surrogate grandson suffered from it on occasion. "So, we have a foreign girl who managed to trespass into the Council Chamber. She was injured upon entry and has a history of being abused. You said that she woke up right? Did you manage to get anything out of her?"
"I did. She woke up about 4 hours ago. We had a communication problem when we first started to speak to each other. It seems that she came from a foreign land. She must have heard our language at one point in her life because she managed to say a few easy phrases."
The Hokage sighed again. They have never experienced a communication problem before with anyone. Sure, each country had a slightly different way of talking, but they were more like different dialects instead of different languages.
"This language barrier is a problem. " the Hokage said as he massaged his temples. He was getting too old for this.
"Actually, not really." the slug Sanin replied. At Sarutobi's questioning look, she continued. "It was quite odd, really. The more we talked, the better her understanding of our language seemed to get. If I would guess, I would say that her brain worked hard assimilated what she already knew of the language with what I was saying. I would say that by this time next week, she would be able to fluently communicate with us."
Sarutobi stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner. "Is that normal for children her age?"
"No, not at all. Her brain seems to be more developed than other children."
"So, we have a genius on our hands?" the aged man asked.
"We wouldn't know for sure if she's a genius or not until we do an aptitude test. But, as far as development goes, she is way ahead of her age group." the medic answered.
"Did you manage to get any information from her?" Sarutobi asked.
"Just the basic. She was only strong enough to talk for an hour or so. First, her name is Potter Catherine or Catherine Potter where she comes from." Tsunade said while having a hard time pronouncing the foreign name.
Sarutobi snorted at the long name. "I think I would get a migraine just from trying to say that name. Give her a nickname for now, to make things easier."
"Whatever you say, Sensei."
"Hmm, why don't we just call her Kaku? It's close enough to her real name. " the Hokage suggested.
A tick formed on Tsunade's forehead. "That's a boy's name! And it sounds nothing like her original name! Pick a better one! " she yelled.
'Ho, she seems to be getting attached to the girl. Perfect.' Sarutobi thought. "Why don't you pick a name then?" he challenged.
"Fine!" after a moment of thought, Tsunade smirked and said, "Hikari. How's that old man?"
"Hikari? You named her that because she was found after a blast of light, didn't you?" the old man questioned with a grin.
Tsunade huffed a little. "Well, at least I didn't name my grandson Konohamaru!" she retorted.
"There's nothing wrong with that name. It's perfectly respectable!"
"Of course it is, Sensei. You just keep thinking that." Tsunade replied.
Sarutobi started to mumble about smart mouthed students before remembering their original topic. "Names aside, what did you learn?" he asked.
"She seemed hesitant when she was talking about where she lived. It's consistent with the behavior of abused children who don't want to return to their abusers. I did manage to get that she ran away from her home over a month ago. She remembered being attacked by a rich man and his hired thugs. She said that she was shot by this man with a "gun" but I wasn't able to determine what a gun was. It appears to shoot out one inch projectiles made like a crossbow maybe."
"That is interesting. A new weapon, perhaps? I don't remember any Hidden Village having something like that." Sarutobi mused.
"Which cements the fact that the girl is from a foreign place. Moving on…After she was shot, she blacked out due to blood loss and shock. She remembered a light and then waking up at the hospital."
"So, no clue as to how she got here." he said with a frown. "That's all you got after talking to her for an hour?"
"Well, she was immensely interested in the healing jutsu I used and kept asking me questions on that." Tsunade replied with a fond smile.
Sarutobi inwardly smiled. 'She likes the girl. Perfect. Now, I just have to do the next part carefully.'
"Well, that is interesting, I guess. How long do you think it will take for her to heal?"
"I say at least a week. Why? Do you want to talk to her?" she asked confused.
"No, I just want to know when to let Ibiki pick her up." He responded.
"Why would Ibiki have to pick her up?"
"Why wouldn't he? It's his job to interrogate anyone who comes to Konoha in a suspicious way. Appearing in a blast of light in the Council Chamber is pretty suspicious if you ask me." the Hokage replied in an even tone.
"The kid is not a spy, Sensei! She's 5 for Kami's sake! They don't start training their kids at the age of 1 month wherever she's from!" she shouted.
"You never know, Tsunade. Anyone could be a spy. She could be under a Genjutsu or pass on knowledge to someone outside the village. She has to see Ibiki" he reasoned.
"And let him break the kid?" Tsunade shouted incredulously, "No way! I'm good enough to know when there's a Genjutsu and that kid did not have one. If you let Ibiki have her, she'll never function normally again!"
"Come now, Ibiki isn't that bad. And, there's no point in arguing. It's the law for all foreign people, be they shinobi or citizen, who appear in Konoha without proper authorization to undergo strict interrogation."
"She's just a kid! Don't they have rights?" Tsunade asked. The girl grew on her, even though they only knew each other for a few hours. Catherine was witty yet polite. To top it off, the girl had an interest in the healing arts and even seemed to understand the explanations she gave her.
"The bottom line is that I am the Hokage and it is my job to protect the citizens of Konoha. The girl is not a citizen and is a potential threat to our safety. Now, if she were a citizen on the other hand…" the Hokage trailed off while looking at his student to see her reaction.
"So that's it? All she has to do is become a citizen? Then make her one!" she demanded.
"It's not that simple. First of all, she didn't come through the proper channels. If we were to do the paperwork now, it would take 10 years!" he exaggerated. "and by that time, it would be too late. Who knows what she could do!"
"I know there's other ways, Sensei. Hell! I see new people come here all the time!"
"Well, those are people with sponsors. The people who have sponsors and pay a fee are automatically put on top of the list. It was a rule made right after Kyuubi attacked us 8 years ago. We had no money left to rebuild even with all the citizens wanting to live here. So, it came down to money. If you had a sponsor willing to pay a fee, then you could become a citizen much faster."
"Alright then, I'll sponsor the kid." The medic said.
"Well, that could work." he started and continued upon seeing Tsunade's triumphant face, "if she were an adult. But since she's only 5, it won't work."
"What?" she said somewhat unintelligently.
"Well, the kid is 5 years old and has no family. If she becomes a citizen, she'll be put into an orphanage, which is runned by the village. When she is old enough to move out, she gets a weekly allowance that also comes from Konoha's treasury. Then, when she finally grows old enough to work, she will hardly make enough money to pay Konoha back and live a decent life." he said while lighting his pipe. "In short, Konoha will lose money if we take her in. If she had parents, then that's another thing. But she doesn't. "
Tsunade twitched in frustration and when you're frustrated, you don't think things too through. "So what? I'll just adopt the kid then!"
Sarutobi smirked 'hook, line, and sinker.'
"Do you even have money? I seem to remember a rumor floating around about a certain Sanin who is covered with debts."
"Of course I do! I still have money left over from my inheritance." she snapped back. "just give me the damn papers!"
"Aren't you even going to ask the kid first? What if she wants to go home? What if she wants to live somewhere else?" Sarutobi asked trying his best not to jump up and down and congratulate himself.
"The kid will love it here. She has nowhere else to go." Tsunade deadpanned.
"Alright then, just sign these papers right here."
The slug Sanin raised an eyebrow in suspicion at how the papers where conveniently all prepared but she signed nevertheless, never bothering to read anything.
"Why don't we pay our little guest a visit while these get filed in?" Sarutobi suggested as he picked up his red Kage hat and put it on his head.
Konoha Hospital
Catherine woke up 2 hours after falling asleep. Her body didn't need the rest anymore after sleeping for a week. She frowned as she closed her eyes and tried to find the feeling that she associated with her "Wish Magic" again. But, like the previous three times she tried, she couldn't find anything more than a small spark. It was like her "Wish Magic" was drained, which made sense considering the amount it must have taken for her to teleport to Konoha and keep her alive before she could get to the hospital. She just hoped that it will fully recharge and not stay drained.
She turned her thoughts to more pressing matters. She was in a completely foreign place, probably somewhere in Japan. Were these people going to send her back to Britain after she gets better? To tell the truth, she would much rather stay in Japan and start a new life. She was already starting to understand the language better so that wasn't a problem.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her room opened. In came the same doctor who was with her earlier, Tsunade or something like that, and an old man wearing a ridiculous bathrobe with a red and white pointy hat with some weird word on it.
"Are you feeling better? Did you enjoy you nap?" Tsunade asked as soon as they were comfortable.
Catherine nodded and smiled, "Yeah, thanks for helping me."
"This is the leader of our village. His name is Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage." Tsunade introduced.
Catherine put her best polite face on and greeted the man.
What followed was a 3 hour mind numbing Q&A period. In that amount of time, Catherine learned three important facts: that ninjas were real, they had weird super powers not unlike her "Wish Magic" and that she definitely wasn't in Japan. Where she was, she had no idea. But, at least she never had to go back.
Sarutobi and Tsunade, in turn, learned a little about her home life and her relatives once they informed her of the medical report they had. When she got to the part about her living in a place she called Britain, Sarutobi put the pieces together and informed them about the Outside World.
The Outside World was a land mass that was east of Water Country. The Shinobi Nations were surrounded by a massive Genjutsu that prevented anyone on the Outside from seeing it. The Shinobi Nations, themselves, were surrounded by massive whirlpools 50 miles from any given country's shores which made traveling to the Outside both impractical and stupid. The only ones who really knew about the Outside were the Kages and other important people. But, people tend to forget things that are unreachable, so it wouldn't surprise anyone if most of the Kages had no knowledge of the Outside.
Out of all the things Catherine told them, she made sure to keep one thing a secret and that was her "Wish Magic." That was her own power and she wasn't going to share with anyone. But, she was interested in these Jutsus the Shinobi used.
It was towards the end of their conversation that Sarutobi decided to mention the adoption.
"Well, how would you like to become a citizen of Konoha?" he asked with a big smile.
Catherine was stunned. That would be the best thing to happen to her in a very long time. Becoming a citizen not only gave her a place to start over, it also cemented the fact that no one would ever take her back to the Dursleys.
"That would be awesome!" she exclaimed, sounding her age for the first time.
Sarutobi smiled at her exuberance. "Tsunade and I have discussed the best method to go about this." he started. There was no need to inform her about the bad things that might have happened. "We think that the best way is for you to be adopted into an existing Konoha family. That way, you have a family and there's less paperwork!" he said with emphasis on the last part.
"But who would want to adopt me? I don't know anyone." Catherine said softly.
"Me, brat. You know me and I'm going to adopt you." Tsunade replied with a smirk.
Catherine's jaw dropped at the opportunity that she was being given. A new life with a family. "Thanks."
"Isn't this great? After you get released, you can start going to the Academy. You'll be just in time for the new school year. Then, after a year, you can choose whether or not you want to start Shinobi classes or continue with civilian ones. But, we'll talk about all that later." Sarutobi said.
"What do you mean school? I'm taking her on the road with me and Shizune!" Tsunade argued not liking where this was going.
Sarutobi smirked at his student. "What are you talking about, Tsunade? This young lady will become a citizen of Konoha. It's pretty obvious that she needs to be in Konoha for that to apply. It's not like she has Sanin traveling rights like you do and she isn't of age to become an apprentice either."
Tsuunade sputtered. "You tricked me Sensei!"
Sarutobi sent Catherine a knowing look and Catherine smirked. She knew what the leader was doing. He was using her to get Tsunade to stay. It's not like she minded. In fact, Tsunade staying was better for her. So, Catherine played along. "You don't want me anymore?" she asked with tears threatening to come down her face.
Tsunade's resolve weakened upon seeing the crying face of her soon to be daughter. She let out a sigh and tried to reassure the little girl, "No, that's not it. I still want you. I'm just mad that this old goat tricked me." she turned to face the Hokage. "You win, Sensei. I guess we're staying."
Sarutobi only said a "That's good" but on the inside he was having a party. He was ecstatic. Finally! After all these years, his student is finally staying for good.
"But, I expect to be able to run this hospital how I want it. And you better let me start the new medic program." Tsunade said, trying to get some things her way.
"Sure,sure." the Hokage agreed easily. "Hmm, I think this young lady needs a new name. After all, she is being adopted into a founding clan. A new name would be good for the occasion."
Tsunade just stared at him and accused, "You just want to because you can't pronounce her name, isn't that right Sensei? Don't think that I didn't notice you not saying her name once this whole time. You just kept saying young lady."
Sarutobi looked innocently and replied childishly, "Of course not! I can pronounce her name, I just don't want to."
"I don't mind a new name." Catherine piped up. She was never attached to her name because for some reason, it felt wrong. Like her name wasn't really Catherine Potter.
"How about Hikari?" Tsunade pitched out.
"That sounds good. It means light right?" Catherine replied.
"You'll never guess how she got that." Sarutobi whispered to the little girl.
"How? It wasn't like she named me that because I came in a blast of light, right?" Catherine innocently asked.
Tsunade gave a sheepish shrug. "What? It fits!"
Catherine laughed. "I still like it. Thanks Kaa-san*"she said while blushing.
Tsunade beamed at the term Catherine used. It made her feel oddly complete.
The Hokage let out a big laugh and turned to Catherine, "Let me be the first to say this. Welcome to Konoha, Senju Hikari."
*Kaa-san means mom